Under federal civil forfeiture laws, law enforcement agencies can permanently seize and keep property merely suspected of involvement in criminal activity, without ever charging—let alone convicting—anyone of a crime. Serious defects in the current law place enormous burdens on innocent owners faced with the loss of their property, and facilitate the circumvention of strong state laws, in violation of federalism principles. This issue has received significant attention from the media and Congress.

Join us for an important and timely discussion on the need to reform federal civil forfeiture laws.